


The Deal

by CynthiaER



Series: Swan Queen Week - Winter 2017 [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Enchanted Forest, F/F, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Minor Violence, Slow Burn, Swan Queen Week, Swan Queen Week Winter 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-02-02
Packaged: 2018-09-21 13:37:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9551345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CynthiaER/pseuds/CynthiaER
Summary: Evil Queen Regina makes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin – he'll tell her the whereabouts of Snow White's daughter in exchange for the unborn child Emma is carrying.





	

The girl looked dreadful. Regina'd known dwarfs weren't the best housekeepers or role models but found herself pleasantly surprised by the utter disarray of hodgepodge rags, knotted blond hair and grimy features that was Snow White's precious daughter. It made Regina even more thankful she'd chosen her most expensive and imposing outfit for the meeting. The contrast between them was awe-inspiring. The guard who'd brought the girl in told her to kneel then forced her to the ground with a firm hand when she hesitated.

“Welcome to my home,” Regina purred, taking a step closer, “it is an honour to meet you at last, Emma Charming.”

The girl's focus had not drifted from her since entering the room, not even when the guard had touched her. _In awe of me,_ Regina preened. The young woman's green eyes were glinting with several emotions, none of which appeared to be defiance. Apparently the dwarfs had not done a good job of transferring their hatred for the queen to Snow's daughter.

“Do you know why I've brought you here?” Regina asked, leaning forward.

The girl shook her head even as her gaze focused on Regina's pronounced cleavage and the jeweled pendant hanging between it. Remembering herself, Snow's daughter looked at the floor, a deep blush painting her cheeks.

_No wonder she's in this pickle,_ Regina chuckled, _she's a newly lit candle, burning hot and fast for anyone._

“Well, she out loud, “Despite the injustices your parents committed against me I cannot ignore the plight of an innocent. You did not commit the acts so why should you be punished? Considering your... predicament offering my assistance is the least I can do.” 

Under no circumstances would she refer to Emma Charming as her grand-daughter. Let the naive girl think she'd had a change of heart and now considered her family. She would not, however, be subjected to the assumptions that went along with being a grandparent. Besides, the title made her feel so old and with magic the pace at which she aged was drastically reduced.

“Your guard will show you to your room. We will see very little of each other, running a kingdom requires the majority of my time. Your guard will show you where you're permitted in the castle. You are dismissed.”

The girl wanted to say something but withheld it, obediently following her guard from the room. Now alone, Regina pondered the encounter. Snow's daughter appeared to have been heavily sheltered. On first glance she seemed meek and altogether nonthreatening. The observation was somewhat comforting. It was, after all, one less thing to worry about. It was also disappointing. Regina had been hoping for fight from the young woman, not compliance. Over a decade of ruling without opposition had made life dull. She still tortured and killed the occasional troublemaker but it was a far cry from the thrill of chasing down a defiant princess.

_I shouldn't get too comfortable,_ the queen told herself, summoning a goblet of wine. _People are layered, there could be more to her than I've seen._

Even if Regina didn't get the fight she'd been hoping for she'd still have the pleasure of devastating Emma when Rumplestilskin came for her child. The Queen wouldn't have known of Snow's daughter's existence if the imp hadn't come to her with a deal: Promise him the girl's unborn child in exchange for her whereabouts. Always suspicious, Regina had asked why he didn't retrieve her himself. Apparently he couldn't stand another house guest after what had happened to his maid.

She'd agreed then done her own digging and uncovered why Emma's child was so important to him. Apparently Baelfire, the son Rumplestilskin had lost many years ago, had been traveling with the elusive Captain Hook. The lost boy and Charming girl had engaged in a rendezvous or two before his departure from one of the East kingdom's ports. That was why she was now with child. Fate seemed determined to continue mixing their families, a fact Regina was not comfortable with. She would, however, make the most of it.

Taking the child would deal a serious mental blow to the girl. Magic had shown Regina how attached Emma already was to the baby, subtle gestures and murmured conversations proof that she was determined to keep it. The act would be the crowning glory of her revenge on Snow. Bandits had denied her the pleasure of killing the princess and her husband but, with Snow's precious daughter now in her care, the stars were finally aligning for completion of a goal kindled when Regina'd barely been a woman. She just had to keep the girl close until it was time...

*

“Why do they call you the Evil Queen?” Emma asked over tea three days later. It was the first time they'd been together since the girl's arrival. The guard reports had been dry, noting that Emma showed a muted interest in her surroundings, a desire to stay physically active, and possessed an appetite for almost any food that was in front of her.

At least she cleaned up nicely. If she was not going to be interesting she needed to be easy on the eyes. Washed, brushed, painted and adorned in a plain cream dress, Emma was like the sun against a cloudy sky. Her beauty was natural, only requiring light touches to shine through. Snow had been beautiful but not in the way her daughter was.

Probably a result of that 'true love' thing, Regina scoffed inwardly, forcing herself to concentrate on the girl's question rather than how good she looked.

“I'm guilty of some unpleasant doings,” taking a sip, Regina puckered her lips as the liquid rolled over her tongue. “When I was chasing Snow I tortured people for information, killed families and even villages if I suspected they'd harboured her. It was extravagantly wasteful. I was blind to everything but my revenge.”

“So you don't kill people anymore?”

_I could lie,_ Regina mused, then decided the truth would be more fun. “I still treat myself once in a while but the mess is so exhausting. Wailing relatives, mobs, it's better to keep that sort of indulgence to a minimum.”

There was disgust on Emma's face yet Regina had the feeling there was more running through the woman's mind - that she was more than she seemed. “You can't keep order any other way?” Emma was nibbling on a biscuit, her free hand resting protectively on her protruding belly.

“No one respects a woman unless she controls them,” the words were pulled right from her book of Cora-isms. As much as she liked to think she'd differentiated herself from her heartless mother Regina couldn't deny that she'd adopted many of her beliefs. “A woman in my position must always fight for her right to rule.”

“That sounds tiresome.” Emma leaned forward, dark lashes shadowing her bright eyes.

Taking a breath, Regina straightened her shoulders. “It's better than being powerless.”

“Why don't you remarry?”

There were only so many prying questions Regina could take. She'd grown accustomed to taking what she wanted and answering to no one. Although she'd intended to wear the mask of kindly matriarch a bit longer the thought of being trapped in yet another marriage brought her anger to life. “Do you know what marriage is?” She asked, her voice low and venomous. Magic was crackling in the air around her, eager for a victim. Emma looked disconcerted but not scared. Not yet. “Marriage gives a man a right to rape. The woman he marries has no say in his activities, no right to choice or freedom. She is no better than a slave.”

“Not everyone has your experience.” The blond's cool, self-important response made Regina see red. Forgetting Rumpelstiltskin, she let her magic lift the girl into the air until she was hanging just high enough that her feet couldn't touch the ground. Now Snow's daughter looked scared. This was more like it. “Marriage is no different anywhere, dear girl. Men may pretend to care for you to get you into bed but, rest assured, when they have to choose themselves or you they will always choose themselves” Releasing the hold on her magic, she watched Emma fall onto the cobble, a tangle of pale fabric and hair.

The eyes that met Regina's from the ground were alien yet entirely too familiar. There, deep in the jade depths, was the fight that had fueled Snow. Anger was burning there, its strength causing a tremor of excitement to rush over Regina's skin.

“I would appreciate it if you were a bit more careful,” Emma's tone was surprisingly calm, every word laced with steel. “I don't care what you do to me, but don't you dare hurt my baby.”

“Or what?” Regina hissed, rising from her chair and stalking closer.

“You'll wish you'd never met me.” The threat was laughable yet Regina was impressed by the blond's gall. She had courage, more in the vein of bull-headed stupidity like her parents, but courage nonetheless. How much of Emma was fighter and how much was the meek girl she hadn't yet pinned down. _Plenty of time to figure it out,_ she told herself, deliberately turning her back on the woman. “Go back to your room.”

A long moment passed before Regina heard the rustling of fabric as Emma rose and moved from the balcony. Whether she went to her chamber or not didn't particularly matter. Regina just needed her gone. She had a lot to think about.

*

“I do not appreciate your interference,” Regina spat, circling her aged father like a cat about to pounce.

“I am watching her, as you asked,” he replied in his calm, infuriatingly paternal way.

“I did not say to befriend her. She is a prisoner here. I do not want you filling her head with fancies.”

“Like the possibility of hope?”

A violent wave of her hand had him stumbling against a table on the other side of the room. “She is my concern father. You can't assuage your conscience by trying to give her what you could not give me.” As much as she wanted to feel justified in her anger part of her insisted on stating he'd done his best, that he could never have saved them from Cora. It was there but it did not win the internal battle. She'd been taught to hate and it was so much easier than forgiveness.

Later that evening Emma appeared in the courtyard while Regina was under her apple tree. She had not summoned the girl and had not interacted with her beyond observing her activities through mirrors since their tea nearly three weeks ago. It had been during this time that Regina's father had gradually worked his way into the girl's confidence, sharing information and encouragement with her when they were alone. Regina had not witnessed all those times, she did have a kingdom to run, but it was the most recent revelation that had prompted her rage.

He'd taken the liberty of sharing details about her childhood , Cora's treatment and, most unforgivable, details about Daniel. She'd practically forbidden the name in her kingdom so no one, especially not her father, should be speaking of him. The thought of her lost love brought back all the pain of ruined hopes, shards of her dreams cutting deeper every time she remembered them. What was there to live for now that Daniel was gone? She'd lived for revenge, then to show-up neighbouring monarchs who thought her weak. Now... it all seemed so empty... her life a horizon of darkness where no sun would ever rise.

“Mind if I join you?” The soft voice interrupted, startling Regina from her introspection.

If she hadn't felt so tired, so hopeless, she would have raged at Emma for the woman's audacity at approaching a queen without an invitation. Instead, she lowered her gaze to hide her tears, wrapping her arms tighter around herself and said nothing. Emma's blond hair glinted in the moonlight, a dressing gown pulled loosely around her satin nightie. She stepped in beside Regina, the air between their shoulders suddenly too warm.

After an extended period with only the sounds of insects around them Regina gathered the will to speak, more out of necessity than desire. “What are you doing here?” Her voice sounded as broken as she felt, a fact that didn't even bother her. Emma could have come with the intention of assassinating her and, in her current mood, Regina would have welcomed it.

“You looked like you could use a friend,” the woman replied softly, her head tilting slightly, green eyes illuminated.

Regina's shoulders were shaking. Snow's daughter had no right to see her so weak – had no right to feel so comfortable in her presence. If it hadn't been for Snow White she could have been a completely different Regina. That possibility had been destroyed and now here stood her grown daughter offering the smallest of gestures that was somehow more than Regina could have ever hoped for. _I really hate destiny,_ Regina thought when a hand took hers and she did not push it away. For some twisted, cruel, unfathomable reason she and Emma were tied deeper than she'd intended. The blond had not challenged her, not resented being forcibly abducted and kept under the Evil Queen's guard. She'd taken it all with grace and an odd interest. Only when Regina'd threatened her child had she turned into a fighter.

“Family,” Regina hadn't meant to speak out loud but, when she realised she had, decided to continue. “You care about family.”

“I don't really know what that is, at least not in the conventional sense,” Emma spoke softly, melancholy in her voice. “The dwarfs were good to me but... it's not the same.”

“I don't know anything about it either,” the suspicious part of Regina concerned with self-preservation was gaining ground but not enough to kill this moment of intimacy. “I had a mother and father but we were never a family.”

Somehow Regina knew that Emma was carefully weighing her next words. The woman was not an open book, nor was she good at hiding her emotions, at least from someone as proficient at identifying people's intentions. When the blond finally spoke her words froze Regina's blood.

“We could be a family.”

_Don't acknowledge it, if you pretend it was never said things can stay the same._ As much as Regina hated the life she'd been forced into she was now comfortable in her role. The glimpse of something more, something beyond the tyranny and loneliness of her existence, was terrifying. Quickly grasping at her anger, Regina squashed the spark of hope that was trying to catch. Caring about people was weakness, it meant you could be hurt and manipulated. If there was one thing Regina knew without a doubt it was that she would never let herself be controlled by anyone ever again.

“Foolish girl, our world is no place for such sentimentality.” Dropping Emma's hand, Regina walked confidently from the garden. 

Little did she know that when Emma set her mind to something not even a mine full of dwarfs and fairies could stop her. So, really, what chance did one Evil Queen have?

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoy this story, please consider leaving me a Ko-Fi: http://ko-fi.com/katarinaclaire


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